Shiffrin leads slalom in pursuit of eighty fifth World Cup win

SPINDLERUV MLYN, Czech Republic (AP) — American skier Mikaela Shiffrin posted the quickest time within the opening run of a ladies’s World Cup slalom Saturday, positioning herself for her eighty fifth profession victory.

If Shiffrin wins the race, she would transfer inside one of many World Cup file of 86 wins set by Swedish nice Ingemar Stenmark within the Eighties.

Shiffrin had shared the ladies’s file of 82 wins with former teammate Lindsey Vonn earlier than triumphing at back-to-back big slaloms in Italy this week.

On Saturday, the American was 0.29 seconds quicker than Lena Dürr of Germany, and Olympic slalom champion Petra Vlhová of Slovakia trailed by 0.46 in third.

“In the long run, good snowboarding and I’m proud of that,” Shiffrin stated.

The remainder of the sphere was greater than a second off the tempo. Decrease-ranked skiers have been nonetheless coming down the course.

Shiffrin, racing on the resort the place she had her World Cup debut as a 15-year-old virtually 12 years in the past, had a quick begin and already led her opponents by no less than 1 / 4 of a second on the first intermediate time.

She additionally gained time on most racers in a difficult passage midway by her run, the place the course set allowed varied methods to move the gates.

“You could possibly ski it both manner,” Shiffrin stated. “I used to be capable of actually carry loads of velocity on the tip of the course. In the long run, I felt excellent on my run.”

The American has gained 4 of the seven slaloms this season and is chasing her eleventh victory of the season.

Solely twice in her profession has she gained greater than 11 races in a single season: 12 in 2017-18 and a file 17 in 2018-19.

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